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Rebuilding at Beach 87th

By Jon Coen

Published Thursday January 10, 2013

If you don't live on the mid-Atlantic Coast, chances are you saw the horrible catastrophe of Superstorm Sandy making landfall on the news. You likely empathized with so many people whose homes were destroyed or damaged. You recognized some of the icons that were destroyed and understood the kind of pain that those communities were going through. You emailed your friends there and sent encouraging messages on Facebook. You probably attended a benefit or made a donation. Some of you even rolled up your sleeves and did some work for those in affected areas.

And as time wore on, your attention turned elsewhere. You got back to your own jobs, your own problems and your own waves. It's not that you're calloused, but there comes a point when you have to shut if off. You don't need to see the images of burned-up homes or footage of people gutting homes anymore.

Well, sorry, but we're still not letting you off the hook.

"Beach 87th St." is a fantastic short film about the struggles folks are facing at Beach 87th in the Rockaways by Jesse and Lukas Huffman, regular contributors to ESPN's snowboard coverage.

This particular piece focuses on one specific neighborhood. It also explores the dynamic of the non-local surfers -- the Williamsburg and Manhattan dwellers who have come out and clogged up the lineups for the past 10 years -- who are now getting their hands dirty in the clean-up and rebuild.

And that's what's happening. In little towns like this from Long Beach, N.Y., to Cape May, N.J., folks who care about the ocean and surfing are leading the charge, even as winter sets in. And make no mistake, they will be back.